Titan
Massive, bipedal creations, titans are the ultimate ground-combat mech. Standing at least forty feet tall, titans were intended to provide crushing firepower on the battlefield. Initially intended to carry human controllers, this feature was removed before full-scale construction began. Some human-controllable prototypes may still exist, but if they do their whereabouts are unknown. All titans suffer from resupply problems - titan resupply stations being both rarer to begin with and easier for Trauma survivors to find and destroy - but some must still be in operation, since titans have been seen with clearly-repaired battle damage. Titans share vulnerabilities - especially poor armour at joints, especially the knees and hips. All titans are equipped with powerful communications equipment, allowing them to control and coordinate large numbers of smaller mechs. Titans rarely attack or travel by themselves. History Titans were among the last classes implemented by Trident Industries, Inc., as part of a desperate effort to improve their command-and-control over their mechanical army. It didn't work very well. Variants There are several subtypes of titan, each with its own designation and purpose. AP Titan ("Widowmaker") Shortest and fastest of the titans, Widowmakers are equipped with a multibarrelled heavy cannon on their left arm and a long-range flamethrower on their right. Widowmaker titans have a top speed over flat ground of about fifty miles per hour, and they use their sheer mass to crash through most obstructions. Widowmakers are commonly found along with smaller ground units, especially swordmechs and saltmechs, to provide close-in infantry support. Artillery Titan ("Earthshaker") Earthshaker titans are equipped with a single superheavy back-mounted cannon, and were intended to provide very-long-range support. To that end, they are equipped with powerful radar and range-finding equipment, and are able to take into effect wind speed, gravity drop and even the pattern of the Earth's rotation to improve their accuracy. In order to fire their 200mm cannon, Earthshakers have to plant both their feet and their hands into the ground to provide a stable firing platform. As a consequence, any limb damage prevents them from firing, and combat-effective Earthshakers are very rare. That said, even an Earthshaker that cannot fire can use its sensor systems and communications equipment to coordinate large mech assaults. Anti-aircraft Titan ("Cloudsweeper") Cloudsweeper titans are mid-size models, based on the Earthshaker chassis. They are armed with back-mounted multibarrelled machine guns and shoulder-mounted heat-seeking rocket launchers, and can engage and destroy any aircraft within a ten mile range. Some models, known as Cloudburners, are also equipped with a single superheavy plasma cannon, mounted in the same configuration as an Earthshaker's cannon. Cloudburners share the Earthshaker need to create a stable firing platform, and the high minimum angle of depression makes it hard for them to use their cannon against ground targets. They are, however, deadly against dreadnoughts and zepmechs. Infantry Support Titan ("Clowncar") Clowncar titans are the largest model of titan, thick-limbed and chunky. Clowncar titans are very lightly armed but very heavily armoured, because their purpose is to carry literally hundreds of smaller mechs into battle. A fully loaded Clowncar carries two hundred swordmechs, two hundred saltmechs, fifty snipermechs and a hundred demomechs in leg- and torso-mounted compartments, along with six raptormechs in a back-mounted harness. Some models have been seen deploying helpmechs as well Clowncars are also known to operate in a command role over large mech formations. Such formations are vanishingly rare, but a clowncar's exceptionally advanced communications and tactical-awareness computer make it perfectly suited for the role. Clowncars are therefore almost always at the very top of any targetting priority list. Construction Titan ("Rebuilder") Rebuilder mechs were designed by Trident to show the nonmilitary applications of their hardware. Rebuilders are lightly armoured and completely unarmed - at least in theory. Intended to demolish and rebuild entire city blocks, their heavy ramming arms, plasma cutters and high-speed saws make them horrifically effective against anything too slow to run away. Rebuilders have also been observed performing repairs on other titans. Category:Mechs Category:Titan